


Stolen Glances

by icecreamsuki



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 01:11:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/933347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/icecreamsuki/pseuds/icecreamsuki
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stolen glances need not be one-sided. It could be two way. And a relationship starts when stolen glances occur at the exact moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stolen Glances

**Author's Note:**

> written in Ohno's POV

Ever since I noticed you in a dingy pub in the heart of Tokyo, it was as if there were only two kinds of people in the world – those who are not you, and you. Pubs are not a usual hang-out place for university students yet you were there and I was there, along with a dozen other stinky old men, with the smell of cigarette and alcohol wafting in the cramped space.   
  
You were alone sitting by the counter, with a pen twirling in one hand and your chin resting on the other. A glass of iced drink to your side was already condensing due to the heat, neglected by your seemingly focused self. Your creased eyebrows were an indication of a state of deep thought, and I was drawn to you at that moment.   
  
That pub was my hideout, away from nonsensical chatter of university students, away from my part-time job as a waiter wherein I constantly got scolded for spacing out, away from the world in general and into a place full of middle-aged men where no one could possibly recognize me. Yet you were there. You were of the same age as me. You appeared mature in my eyes, so different from the kids I meet in the university. You seemed wise, and knowledgeable about the intricacies and mysteries of life and living. You had me drawn to you, despite knowing absolutely nothing about you.   
  
You couldn’t possibly know me, right?  
  
I saw you for the second time while I was having one of my walks along the baseball field. I couldn’t believe it at first. I didn’t expect you to be a student in the university I went to. You were wearing a cotton white shirt and jeans, simple and without unnecessary adornment, and practical for the summer season.  
  
It was not love at first sight; I knew that for a fact. I have already come to the conclusion that such a thing was distastefully sappy and too good to be true. It was attraction, I realized. It was the reassurance that such a person existed, and in the university I went to nonetheless.   
  
I saw you for the third time while I was walking up the stairs of the Arts building and you were going down. I willed myself not to stare but contented with watching you at the corner of my eye. As I reached the hallway of the second floor, I wait for a while for you to reach the ground floor and walk out of the building. When I was sure you were far, I secretly looked out the window to freely watch your slowly diminishing form. I was then able to release the smile I had been trying to hide.   
  
My heart jumped in delight when I saw you at an outreach program for children in the orphanage. I didn’t know how to act when you were near me. I was restless; I did all I can to stay away from you. Despite my friend’s relentless invitation to go to the music area, I declined for I didn’t want to be in your presence. I figured you were there to play guitar for the kids. I knew because I was straining my ears, listening intently when you were practicing in a corner while we were unpacking our art materials. I came to teach art, and you came to play guitar for the same set of kids, in the same orphanage, at the same day. What were the odds of that?  
  
I sat on a bench to rest for a while. It was lunch time and I have been teaching curious kids the whole morning. My friend Sho accompanied me and we ate lunch quietly. Sho wanted to come to teach the kids art as well, but in the end, he ended up the one being taught. He was even the most eager in all of my students, but thankfully, his eagerness rubbed off on the children. The expression of delight in the kids as I taught them techniques on how to draw trees, grass and the sky was something priceless.  
  
I was snapped back from my spacing out when a pair of guys sat on the other end of the bench. I was surprised to find out that it was you. I felt trapped; I couldn’t leave my seat because it would look awkward and suspicious. I settled with listening to your conversation.   
  
“How dare those pop stars! They were only using the kids for publicity!” your friend said. He was taller than you, wearing a clean haircut with bangs running towards the side, unable to hide his thick eyebrows. “After they performed, they didn’t even play or mingle with the kids!” He claimed in irritation.  
  
And then you told a story about a politician who came and gave the orphan kids shirts with the politician’s name and face plastered on them. It was evidently just a political gimmick and you were appalled that children were used in such a ploy.   
  
Even though I was only listening from afar and couldn’t clearly see your facial expressions, I sensed the sadness and frustration in the tone of your voices. And just hearing your stories, I was angry and frustrated as well.   
  
I started working as a volunteer to make better use of my time and share my talents in art. I wanted other people to appreciate art as much as I do. I wanted to see the smiles in the faces of these kids, and protect those smiles in a way I can. I was pleased when they kept calling me Ohno-sensei even though I told them countless times to just call me Satonii-chan. It was also amusing how the children teased Sho regarding his rather comical drawings.   
  
However, I didn’t realize that there were people like you and your friend who were passionate about this. The two of you talked about a lot of other things like exams and school work. I knew because I was listening, and trying hard not to appear doing so. 

  
-=-=-

  
“Were you listening to the two people who were sitting on the bench during lunch earlier?” Sho asked when we were walking back home after a long day. I replied yes.  
  
“The guy kept glancing at you,” he pointed out. “Maybe he likes you,” he added. He was not teasing; he was seriously pondering about it. Sho was strange sometimes.   
  
I wanted to ask him which of the two guys was looking, how often the guy glanced, and what made Sho say that in the first place. I stopped myself, though. Sometimes, it would be better not knowing and just living in a fantasy.   
I have read something about extrasensory perception and telepathy. Maybe we could use that in our little relationship, but that’s just me getting ahead of myself. And that’s just me being coward, unable to approach you, and contenting myself with watching from the sidelines.   
  
And as time goes by, we could probably converse through stolen glances, until one of us (I’m sure it wouldn’t be me) plucks up the courage to end this charade and actually strike up a conversation.   
  
Stolen glances need not be one-sided. It could be two way. And a relationship starts when stolen glances occur at the exact moment.  
  
Until that moment, I'll continue watching you.  
  
-=-=-


End file.
